LEARNIN' about computer stuffs

[bluestarultor]

Originally Posted by Yumil

On the programming side I suggest you go with C#. Most of the languages do a lot of the same things and have very similar syntaxes, so once you learn one really well, all you really have to do is buy a reference book for your language of choice and you'll quickly be able to churn out code for your new language(there are exceptions, but most modern high level languages are similar in basic syntax).

I suggest C# because the code is actually readable, compared to Visual Basic, and that is a big plus. The Visual Studio interface for making windows forms is rather easy to use and I assume that since you said you wanted to make programs to do the maths for you, that that's all you really want to mess with. I learned Java in college(begrudgingly, thats all UTD offered pretty much) and taught myself C# and C# is my choice(though on the portability side Java is still better equipped).

The one suggestion I have aside from language is to learn how to comment effectively as soon as you can. No, I'm not saying comment everyline, just enough to describe intent the method or class and/or the responsibilities it has. You should use naming conventions that are self-commenting, so anything that is obvious you don't really have to comment about. Self-commenting code and comments are very important. If there is something that is too complex for an outsider to know whats going on by looking at it, try refactoring it, if you can't simplify it make sure you comment and tell what you are doing there.

The readability of it and the commenting really helps when you revisit the code. I consistently recycle code from old projects, so I'm constantly revisiting old projects. It helps me remember what's going on. Also, it helps if you bring anyone else in on the code as they may not be on the save wavelength as you and may not understand what you are doing with 'a' and 'b', but would know if you named your variables '_customerName' and '_customerAge' instead(and/or commented about it).

So, TLDR:
C#, try to make your code as readable as possible.

This is great advice, but let me try to make it easier to understand. Hopefully the PHP tags help to break it up.

When speaking about comments, it's stuff you can put in the code that the program ignores. This lets you leave yourself notes. For example:

PHP Code:

//This is a comment.  The rest is code.
this.write("Hello world!"); 


When people talk about self-commenting code, they talk about stuff like this:

PHP Code:

int intNumber1 = 1;
int intnumber2 = 1;
int intSum = 0;

intSum = intNumber1 + intNumber2; 


Instead, a lot of incredibly lazy and careless programmers might do:

PHP Code:

int x = 1;
int y = 1;
int z = 0;

z = x + y; 


By making your names descriptive, you help anyone reading it keep track of what's what.

The best thing about this is that I'm not actually writing PHP code. Or am I? Well, it's both. If you pick up any language but Visual Basic, the code is in many cases exactly the same. Because most languages have a C-like syntax, it lets you focus on the differences rather than starting over every language.

'This is how it would look in Visual Basic.  This line is a comment.

Dim intNumber1 as Integer
Dim intNumber2 as Integer
Dim intSum as Integer

intSum = intNumber1 + intNumber2

Basically, VB is the only one with that syntax right now because it's the only one derived from a language other than C. BASIC, C, and COBOL are three of the oldest languages. BASIC went to VB. C went to just about everything else. COBOL stayed the same and is in the process of slowly dying out as newer languages become more useful for business and business applications occupy less and less of the programming market.


That said, I'll agree that C# is a great place to start if you actually want to be serious about programming. VB has a lower learning curve and does mostly the same stuff, but it's verbose and less structured. C# has the benefit of .NET like VB, but it's got a much better structure, which might be helpful for self-teaching.

Originally Posted by Fifthfiend

Best thing you can do is take a class; teaching yourself programming from scratch is like doing your own root canal.

That's why I suggested he take it up in stages. I personally think everyone should know some HTML and CSS. If he can get used to hammering out code and get into programming by way of Javascript, it's a much smoother transition, especially since Javascript also has a C-like syntax.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Originally Posted by Fifthfiend

Best thing you can do is take a class; teaching yourself programming from scratch is like doing your own root canal.

But they only teach you by the book. How will he ever survive in the dangerous world of street coding? There ain't no commenting-out, segfaults are deadfaults.

I don't know about over there but coding courses over here are expensive as shit and no more innovative than "This is how you code- you could have read this on the internet for free". But if you want a career in it it is highly likely ou'll need to do a course for the certification anywa.

[Eldezar]

For data systems management, i.e. IT Director, you will be surprised at how much a background in construction and electrician will help you.

[Yumil]

I personally found all my programming class lectures worthless, but they did offer one thing that I may not of been able to do on my own unless I was extremely dedicated.

They made me program applications to help learn parts you can only really learn by doing it. They give you good guidelines to make example programs of what you'd need to do in the future. The lecture you can learn online for free, but you aren't forced to code an app that does everything that you learned with online.

It's up to how selfmotivated you are if a class is right for you or not. For me it wasn't. I taught myself everything I need to know(that the class was going to teach me) in a fraction of the time and found all the exercises and labs rather trite. I can see how it will help people though is why I bring it up. Actually, its why I swapped majors because I began to hate coding due to school(Im back to being in love with it and wish I had stuck with it though)

[Fifthfiend]

Originally Posted by Yumil

I personally found all my programming class lectures worthless, but they did offer one thing that I may not of been able to do on my own unless I was extremely dedicated.

They made me program applications to help learn parts you can only really learn by doing it. They give you good guidelines to make example programs of what you'd need to do in the future. The lecture you can learn online for free, but you aren't forced to code an app that does everything that you learned with online.

When I say that trying to teach yourself programming is like doing your own root canal, what I mean is nobody is seriously going to pick up a drill and do their own root canal. Paying someone some money to strap you into a chair and take a drill to your face is pretty much the only realistic way it's gonna happen.